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13.1 Spiral dives
The spiral dive is an effective form of fast descent. With some practice you can achieve 15
m/s sink speeds with your EXPLORER. You must gradually get a feeling for these speeds!
By continuously pulling the brake on one side you can narrow the turn so that it threatens
to spiral and achieve very fast sinking speeds. As soon as the EXPLORER is in a spiral
dive (clear increase in sinking speeds and turning position) you must stabilise with the brake on the outer wing and gently control your desired sink speed. In an average spiral dive
both brakes are pulled equally by approximately 35 cm. The EXPLORER therefore will not
move or pitch so far forward and is more stable in the spiral and exits from it smoothly.
Caution: If you start this too quickly there is risk of spinning! In this situation re-release the
brakes and try again.
Caution: The EXPLORER quickly gathers speed in spirals and can reach rates of 15 m/s
and high g-forces. You should only fly over 10 m/s in serious emergency situations and if
you have the relevant pilot qualifications as the strain placed on the materials and the pilot
can exceed safe levels!
The spiral dive can be stopped by slowly releasing the brakes and counter braking in a
controlled manor so that you avoid excessive swinging. In addition with the EXPLORER,
as with all modern low resistance gliders, there be can a tendency to over spin after higher
speeds (sink speeds of over 12 m/s).
A clear distinction should be made between the introductory phase (only inner braking
plus shifting of weight) of the spiral phase (inner braking is Reduced, the outer brake then
pulled and weight kept neutral) and the exit phase (slowly brake on both brakes and if
needed release the inner brake somewhat faster and weight tends to move to the outer
side)! As a pilot you have to be aware of the high fitness level needed for steep spiral
dives and controlled smooth exiting. A sudden release of the brakes or counter steering at
faster speeds to stop an over spin can lead to dynamic and dangerous looping movements
and therefore must not be carried out! Because extreme spiral spins place high forces on
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